European project TOBI came to a close this summer with the EPFL’s successful demonstration of a mind-controlled robot. The study exhibited a 100% success rate, proving that robots can be controlled by thoughts alone – but the technology may die on the vine. (via EPFL)
The European Tools for Brain-Computer Interaction (TOBI) project recently came to a close with a successful demonstration of mind-controlled robotic capabilities. The seven-year-long, € 20 million project may revolutionize robotic technology for persons with disabilities, if another innovator is only willing to carry the torch.
The TOBI project began in 2008 as an initiative to explore the capabilities of mind-controlled computers for the disabled. After nearly a decade of work, Swiss research lab and university École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) recently demonstrated that mind-controlled computers are not a thing of the future – we have the technology right now.
The EPFL conducted a study in which 19 participants from Germany, Italy and Switzerland were given electrode-studded hats and asked to try and control a robot located in an EPFL lab using only their thoughts. Nine of the participants were disabled quadriplegics and the remaining ten were healthy. Using only the hat, an internet connection and their thoughts, 100% of the participants successfully controlled the robot.
How it all comes together is impressive. The electrode-studded hat monitors participant brain waves, and makes a spatial map of their thoughts. The robot is trained to avoid obstacles on its own, even if a participant deliberately tries to sabotage it. What’s more, the robot also memorizes the participant’s initial route, and will continue to follow that path until the participant commands it to stop. This way, users may take a break from actively monitoring the actions of the bot.
The way in which it works is important for its intent. Project TOBI was specifically initialized with the disabled in-mind. Having physical disabilities, such as being quadriplegic, can make it difficult to socialize during events. This technology provides a way for the handicap to virtually engage with family and friends, from the comfort of their homes.
In theory, the robot is nothing more than a laptop on smart wheels, but the successful completion of the project validates the technology as a means to engage the disabled in the outside world. With the close of the program, however, unless another innovator carries the torch, it will remain a proof-of-concept.
The EPFL stated if insurance companies were willing to cover the expense of the robot for disabled persons, its production could be feasible. Since most insurance companies don’t want to fund seemingly normal health care services, however, that may be a pipe dream.
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